November 18, 2012 11:43 PM CSTNovember 18, 2012 11:43 PM CSTIn year of firsts, Texas A&M eyeing Thanksgiving without Longhorns and first 10-win season in 14 years

In year of firsts, Texas A&M eyeing Thanksgiving without Longhorns and first 10-win season in 14 years

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4. Kenjon Barner, RB, Oregon / Saturday’s stats: 21 carries for 66 yards, 0 TDs vs. Stanford / Season numbers: 200 carries for 1,361 yards and 19 TDs / The rundown: Oregon's loss to Stanford will definitely hurt Barner's Heisman hopes, but not as much as back-to-back bad weeks late in the season. The junior averaged 3.2 yards per carry and was held without a touchdown in his last two games, and would've taken a bigger dive down the list had anyone behind him done something of significance. Barner still has a big opportunity against Oregon State, and could have a Pac-12 title game ahead if Stanford loses to UCLA, but he's going to need a finish for the ages to have a chance.

COLLEGE STATION,
Texas (AP) — For the first time in a long while, No. 9 Texas A&M
won't spend Thanksgiving week preparing for rival Texas.

The more
than 100-year rivalry, which had been played during Thanksgiving week
since the mid-90s, ended with A&M's move to the SEC.

But the
Aggies won't miss the Longhorns this week. In their finale against
Missouri, they have a chance for their first 10-win season since they
went 11-3 in 1998.

"It's going to be a little different," senior
defensive back Steven Terrell said. "But this whole year has been
different. We're not going to cry about it or anything. We're not too
worried about it."

The Aggies have won four straight behind the strong play of quarterback Johnny Manziel, a Heisman Trophy hopeful.

His
chances to become the first freshman to win the award likely improved
after a three-interception performance by Collin Klein in Kansas State's
loss to Baylor on Saturday night.

Manziel accounted for five
touchdowns in just over a half of a 47-28 win over Sam Houston State on
Saturday. He is second in the nation in total offense with more than 378
yards a game, and the 20.73 points a game he's responsible for are tied
for third in the country.

Manziel broke the NCAA freshman
quarterback rushing record of 1,029 yards set by Missouri's Brad Smith
in 2002, and the freshman record for total offense of 3,827 yards set in
2000 by Jared Lorenzen on A&M's first drive Saturday.

He is
the fifth player and first freshman in FBS history to pass for at least
3,000 yards with at least 1,000 yards rushing in a season, and his 4,161
yards are a school record for total offense in a season.

Manziel's increased ability to make throws downfield has helped the Aggies offense in the last few weeks.

"(Offensive
coordinator) Kliff Kingsbury has done a great job of working with him
throughout the year to develop his confidence in the passing game,"
coach Kevin Sumlin said. "I think it's an understanding by him of the
defense and our personnel."

The seniors on this team have been on a
roller coaster in their careers. They were 6-7 in 2009 and 9-4 in 2010,
then entered last season as a top-10 team only to finish a
disappointing 7-6, which led to Mike Sherman's firing.

"This team
has been through a lot," Terrell said. "We have had seasons that we
weren't ranked at all, and we have been on winning streaks. It has been
up and down. It feels good to be on top again and to play meaningful
games in November."

Sumlin loves the way this group has responded
to him and the rest of the new coaching staff, and how the Aggies have
handled the challenge of moving from the Big 12 to the SEC.

"The
seniors have shown tremendous leadership this year," he said. "They have
really gotten better as the season has progressed. The most impressive
thing that they have done is deal with the adversity."

Texas
A&M struggled to close out games last season, and four of their six
defeats were by a combined 10 points. This season they've done a much
better job, a trait that was illustrated in their 29-24 upset of then
top-ranked Alabama two weeks ago.

"I've always thought we have the
talent to compete with anybody in the nation, but I think that it took
all of us coming together," said senior linebacker Sean Porter, who
caused and recovered a fumble Saturday. "I think coach Sumlin and his
staff really helped us to do that and clean up some of the little
mistakes. I think we finally put the pieces together to do what we were
supposed to be doing all along."

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